Essence & Qi Blog

Herbs for Heart Health

Are you wondering if eating right and exercising is enough to keep your heart and circulation in tip-top shape? You might want to join ranks with others who are boosting heart health by adding supplemental herbs to their diet. Here’s a look at some proven herbal heart helpers.

Garlic: Affectionately called the stinking rose by those who love its culinary uses, most people don’t think of garlic as a medicinal herb. Still, it has been used for thousands of years as a treatment for a wide range of conditions. Some of those uses include infections, wound healing and tumors. Today, we know that garlic lovers can boast about their lowered cholesterol and blood pressure. The National Cancer Institute is now looking at garlic’s ability to fight several forms of cancer, including stomach and colon cancers.

Bilberry: A close relative to the cranberry, the fruit contains anthocyanside, which is a type of flavonoid that helps with blood flow by strengthening capillaries. In fact, research has shown that bilberry not only strengthens coronary arteries but works on the tiniest capillaries in our eyes, which results in vision improvements. Its strong antioxidant properties make it a great tonic for overall health.

Hawthorn: Many herbalists consider hawthorn to be one of the best heart tonics on the planet. What’s more it’s helpful for all sorts of heart conditions including arrhythmia and enlarged heart. Although hawthorn hasn’t been shown to reverse heart conditions, it will increase and strengthen deteriorated heart muscle. If you have a healthy heart and want to keep it that way, hawthorn can benefit by reducing cholesterol buildup in artery walls and lowering blood pressure. In Germany hawthorn is very popular since studies conducted by its Federal Ministry of Health has shown that it gently dilates coronary arteries to help circulation within the heart itself.

Cayenne: If you like hot and spicy, adding this pepper to your list of heart herbs won’t be hard. It is available in powder, capsules and tinctures. Many herbalists think that cayenne should be added to all herbal preparations because it gets blood flow going so quickly. When some part of the body is ill, blood plays a key role as a delivery system. The blood has to get to the problem area to bring it the nutrition and healing elements it needs. Cayenne is remarkable for getting blood circulation going. Cayenne makes its way through any mucus that might be blocking veins, which in turns helps to lower blood pressure.

Ginkgo Biloba: Most have already heard about this herb’s ability to improve brain function. That’s because it works so wonderfully on circulation by getting arteries, capillaries and veins to dilate (enlarge), where needed. In addition, it inhibits blood from forming clots and stops free radicals from causing damage to vascular walls.

Millions of people have some form of cardiovascular disease. Many of us are making healthy life changes. Adding some of the best heart and circulatory herbs available can enhance your efforts.